[vsrivatsa]

"Unbranded" - Journey from Blaupunkt to an Android Head Unit (Foxfire) on a Ciaz

This story is the journey of my cousin who did an ICE upgrade from a stock head unit to a Blaupunkt based Head Unit and then the journey of moving away from a brand back to an Android Head Unit based on Foxfire.

In many ways this article is both a prequel as well as a sequel to my other thread on Foxfire Head Unit Upgrade on my Honda City here on Team-BHP >

Teaser
Before I take you through the journey, here is a teaser of the result and the current status of his Ciaz as it appears on date:

Ciaz with 9" Foxfire 4GB/64GB Android Head Unit


Foxfire Contact Details:
Sunny Gupta
Mobile/WhatsApp: 95550 11134
Website: http://www.foxfire.co.in/

Foxfire Car Infotainment System Specifications for Ciaz:
9 inch Capacitive TouchScreen (available in 10 inch size based on the car)
Android 9.1 Car Edition
4GB RAM / 64 GB ROM with 4G SIM Support


Context
My cousin owns a Maruti Ciaz Delta based on the legendary 1.3 DDIS Fiat sourced engine which he purchased in Jan 2018. It has been serving him well and he has had a fuss free ownership for the last 34,500 kms.


Maruti Ciaz in Nexa Blue sporting Momo Reds 16 inch Alloys Wheels

The Delta variant of Ciaz comes with a basic Head unit which comes with FM Radio, Bluetooth and USB Support for MP3 Playback. The lack of a touchscreen was something that he found missing and decided to upgrade the ICE. In early 2019 both of us jointly did lot of research on Car Head Units and looked at models from Pioneer and Sony primarily.
Both the Sony AX-5000 and the Pioneer Z5290BT were shortlisted and after a close look at the specifications, the Sony AX-5000 was finalized as it had a Capacitive Touch Screen.

Chapters/Index:

1. The ICE Upgrade to Costa Mesa
2. Additional Research on Car Infotainment Systems
3. Foxfire 4GB/64GB with 4G SIM Installation on CIAZ
4. Initial Software Settings & Testing the Rear Camera
5. Exploring the Software and Android Apps
6. Foxfire Android Head Unit Video Walkthrough
7. Review Comments & Conclusion

[vsrivatsa]

The ICE Upgrade to Costa Mesa

In April 2019, my cousin finally decided to get the Sony AX-5000 installed on his Ciaz. After enquiring the pricing at a few of the ICE installers in Bangalore which included A1 Car Care, Car Gold and Car N Style, he finalized upon Car N Style near JC Road, Bangalore.

An appointment was made for the installation and he reached Car N Style. Here is where the twist happened. Even though the model had been finalized Car N Style person showed a few more options, one of which included the Blaupunkt Costa Mesa 900. This was something that had not been part of our research. My cousin called me with the model details and I quickly looked up the specific HU on the Internet (Link) and checked on the features and provided him my feedback. So, based on the discussions and quick evaluation he decided to proceed with the Costa Mesa 900.

The Costa Mesa 900 comes with Android 6.0, 1GB RAM and 16 GB ROM. The installation was handled well at Car N Style. A detailed pictorial of the installation of the 6.75 inch Cost Mesa on the Ciaz follows next:


Stock HeadUnit of the Ciaz Delta


Box Packed Costa Mesa


Costa Mesa Unboxed


Installation Begins - Stock Unit Unmounted


Rear View of Costa Mesa


Wiring


Installation in Progress


Frame for the Head Unit


Installation Continues


Wiring In Progress


Costa Mesa seated in the slot and switched on


Testing Steering Mounted Controls


Testing FM Radio


Testing Rear Camera


Costa Mesa Home Screen


Showing Android Apps


Booting Screen


Checking WiFi Connectivity


Checking YouTube App

Brief Review of Costa Mesa
The complete price paid for the Costa Mesa Unit including the installation charges was ₹24,000. The stock Head Unit that came with the Ciaz was sold on OLX for ₹3,500.

Key Notes from the installation:

• The stock speakers were retained
• The aftermarket rear view camera that my cousin had purchased and paired with a Monitor worked perfectly with the Costa Mesa
• The Steering Wheel Controls worked fine
• The Glass Antenna which comes as stock with the Ciaz did not work and an additional custom antenna had to be added
• The existing USB socket of the Ciaz also did not work and the USB ports were provided inside the glove box
• The entire installation was plug and play with coupler to coupler fitment and there was no cutting or splicing of wires involved as part of the installation

The Costa Mesa is an early attempt from a brand to provide the Android experience to the users. It supported installation of various Apps and was backed by excellent company support and warranty. The Google Maps was not working on the day of install and my cousin called Blaupunkt support, fixed up an appointment with them and got it fixed. Apparently some GMS Installer APK was missing and the Blaupunkt support person installed this enabling Google Play store.

The Costa Mesa has a built-in Wifi Receiver and if you created a Wifi hotspot using your mobile phone or a Jio Dongle then it can get onto the Internet and stream audio and video from the Internet.
While the idea of a brand coming up with an Android Head Unit sounds great, the average hardware is what lets the Costa Mesa down. The 1 GB of RAM means that the interface is far from responsive when it comes to applications such as Google Maps.

My cousin did put the Android support to good use and regularly used applications such as Google Chrome, Amazon Music and Wynk Music Apps.
The sound levels improved as compared to the stock Head Unit but the overall Sound Stage in general was still average.

[vsrivatsa]

Additional Research on Car Infotainment Systems

Now I will briefly switch the storyline slightly towards my own personal experience of ICE upgrade which happened in July last year.
At this point of time, I had still not finalized about the upgrade on my car which is the 4th Gen Honda City. The concept of having Android and the ability to install apps impressed me. At this point of time, I learned about the unbranded Android Head Units such a Hypersonic and Foxfire. After additional due diligence I went ahead and got the Foxfire Android Infotainment system installed on my Honda City in July 2019.
More details of my buying experience and review of the system can be found on Team-BHP here >

Foxfire Experience & Aging of the Foxfire System

The massive size of the Foxfire Unit is a huge draw in comparison to the 7-inch systems provided by brands such as Blaupunkt, Pioneer and Sony. The one thing at the time of purchase I was worried about was how an Android system would age given that Android phones slow down after a year. Keeping the installation of apps in control, I can say that after close to 15 months with the Foxfire Unit it has aged well, and I have not faced any issues so far with the system.

A key learning that I would like to call out is that the default equalizer settings of the Foxfire system is not the best and one has to tweak around with it to get to that sweet spot setting as per each person’s taste.
Also, the specific model that I went to had 2GB RAM and 32 GB ROM. Despite the 2GB RAM I must say that Google Maps does have a loading time and is not the fastest. It is something one can live with, but the performance can be better and more fluid for sure.

Another experience that I would like to share here is that a Chinese Head Unit is not for everyone’s liking. I have come across some audiophiles who have been extremely critical about Android Head Units. A person on my Honda City WhatsApp group who was frustrated with issues on the Honda Digipad ordered Foxfire and did not like the sound quality of Foxfire in comparison with the Honda Digipad at all and in fact rolled back to the Digipad.

Head Unit Search starts Again…

As both myself and my cousin both work out of offices in Electronic City, we have had the opportunity of commuting together in a single car multiple times in both the Ciaz as well as the City. So I had the opportunity to first hand evaluate the Costa Mesa and compare with the Foxfire unit installed on my car. The obvious difference of course is the screen real estate which makes a huge difference in the end user experience. Other than that going purely by the audio quality as well, I found the soundstage of the Costa Mesa system to be inferior compared to the Foxfire system. I did recommend my cousin to tune around and try various settings but the sound seemed to be too much Bass oriented and missed the higher frequencies. As this issue remained, the next thought was to decide whether to live with the Costa Mesa or to make the switch again. As the Foxfire system also had its issues in terms of the RAM being only 2GB, I recommended to my cousin to wait for 4GB systems to enter the market. So the decision was made to wait until 4GB based Android Head Units appear on the market. We did not come across any 4GB based models for the rest of 2019. We checked again in early 2020 and did not find any of these guys having 4GB RAM based options and finally the lock down started.

During the lockdown sometime in May 2020, I did come across one seller based out of Delhi called VP Traders who said he has a 4GB/64GB model but this was without a SIM but he said a USB based Wifi Dongle can be directly attached to the Head Unit via the USB port. So we negotiated a model for the Ciaz and the deal was almost finalized when the vendor said he would test the 4GB model since not many had purchased it from him. He was not able to get the Dongle to work as he had claimed and honestly admitted that dongle approach may not work. At this point of time we checked both Hypersonic and Foxfire once more and they said that they do not yet have 4GB based systems available. So we gave up the search as anyways the lockdown was also there and the cars were hardly being used.

In the meantime we came across yet another Android based system from Blaupunkt called Key Largo 970 which had 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM and was based on Android 9. Given that it was only 2GB RAM we did not consider this model further.

Fast forward to mid August of 2020 and BHPian "The Great" sent me a message asking more details on my Foxfire Unit. I exchanged a couple of Whatsapp messages with him and came to know that he had negotiated with Foxfire folks for a 4GB/64GB system. I passed on the message to both my Uncle and my cousin that the 4GB variant had finally arrived. Both of them took some time and finally negotiated together for 2 Foxfire based systems with Sunny Gupta from Foxfire.

Foxfire Once Again

The two systems included were: (both 4GB/64GB variants based on Android 9.1)
1. 10 inch Foxfire System for my Uncle's Jeep Compass including 360 degree camera
2. 9 inch Foxfire System for my cousin's Ciaz with a single reverse camera

Note: 360 degree camera support was available for Ciaz as well but my cousin did not opt for it.

Sunny (Foxfire) did call out upfront that the delivery would take time as he did not have these readily available and he gave a forecast of about 2 weeks and they made payment of 50% of the amount on 28-Aug-2020. At the end of 2 weeks he said that there was a testing of some new version of software happening and requested for additional time.

So, it went on along as a long wait. Finally Sunny said he was ready to ship in mid October only. Payment for the remaining half of the amount was made and the item was shipped on 15-Oct via Ground Shipping. It was a slightly tense period after this as the tracking did not show progress for a week. Post that my cousin spoke to Sunny again and this time he said he would re-send a different set of systems since there had been some issue with the courier. And also to compensate for the delay he shipped the new set via Air Shipping and the package was received safely this time. However, this package did not include the cameras and these would be sent separately - so yet another delay but Sunny has agreed to send these by 07-Nov-2020. But anyways the systems have been received and my cousin decided that he would go first and get the Foxfire 4GB/64GB 4G SIM based Unit first.


Foxfire Box Pack - View 01


Foxfire Box Pack - View 02

The box seems to be from the old series itself and not updated to reflect the features included in the latest release as of now.

[vsrivatsa]

Foxfire 4GB/64GB with 4G SIM Installation on CIAZ

The installation and fitment of the Foxfire Unit was done by RedSoul Enterprises in Bangalore.



One of the main advantage of Foxfire over others like Hypersonic is that Sunny Gupta has tie ups with Installers in all major cities. If someone wants they can visit RedSoul and get a demo of the Foxfire Unit before making the purchase decision as well. Also, the installation & labor charges are already included in the price that was paid for the Foxfire Unit. RedSoul guys are rated very well and have been in the business for a long time - the technicians are extremely professional and wear a RedSoul uniform as well.

For those who are worried about Warranty due to accessories, I would like to call out that this entire installation was Plug and Play and did not involve any cutting of wires.

RedSoul Enterprises
14, Dr Omer Sherif Rd, Mohammedan Block, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru - 560004
Google Maps: Link


Foxfire 4GB-64GB Unit - Front View


Foxfire 4GB-64GB Unit - Rear View


Foxfire 4GB-64GB Unit - Side Profile


Foxfire Wiring Harness


Installation Begins - Red Soul Engineers at work


Unboxing of the Unit and Unmounting Cosa Mesa Starts


Costa Mesa Unmounting


Existing Infotainment Unit completely removed


Installation Proceeds


Two people worked in parallel on the Installation task


Placement of FM Radio Antenna


Wiring work


More wiring work


Unboxed Foxfire Unit kept ready for Placement into the bay


Warranty marking shows Oct 2020


Close Up of Rear View showing various connectors


Placement of GPS and 4G Antenna



Wiring in Progress


Wiring Connections


Final Wiring Checks


Foxfire Infotainment System Powered On

[vsrivatsa]

Initial Software Settings & Testing the Rear Camera


Boot Up Default Logo


Android Starts to Load up


Home Screen Post Boot


Apps Listing


Testing FM Radio


Boot Logo Selection Screen


Suzuki Logo Selected as boot logo


Steering Wheel Buttons Mapping


Button Successfully mapped


Steering Mounted Button Selection & Mapping


DSP Settings


Reverse Camera Configurations


Reverse Camera Working


Closer Shot of Reverse Camera Feed


SIM Slot Socket Positioned inside Glovebox


SIM Slot Closer View


2 USB Slots Positioned inside Glovebox

Post Installation test of various basic features was performed. One thing to note is that the Foxfire Unit worked fine with the existing aftermarket camera which had been installed on the Ciaz. Sunny is expected to send over the newer higher resolution camera by 8th Nov.

Also, one key thing I noticed as different here is that both the USB ports supported by the Foxfire Unit are shared from within the Glovebox and did not integrate with the existing USB socket provided in the car. In case of my Honda City and with the 2GB/32 GB Model of Foxfire, one of the USB ports integrated with the Built-in USB port of the car while providing the additional one from within the glove box.

Next we look at some of the Apps installed and also test by installing some of the Android Apps such as Amazon Music.

[vsrivatsa]

Exploring the Software and Android Apps


System Info screen showing the RAM & Processor Details


Android StartUp Logo


Google Playstore on Foxfire


Google Playstore Updates Status


Amazon Music App being installed


Amazon Music App Loading Up


Amazon Music Home Screen as seen on Foxfire HU


Song Playback on Amazon Music


A quick note on Amazon Music, for people interested to understand more how the voice commands support by Amazon Music can be used effectively on Foxfire Infotainment System, I would recommend going thru more details covered on my post here >

This is a key advantage of the System and enables a safer driver experience as one does not have to turn the knobs or press buttons to select a specific song or search for a specific song.



System Settings


About 11% of 64GB used in a New Unit


Home Screen/Launcher


Google Maps


Google Maps Mapped to Location


Navigation using Google Maps


Bluetooth Settings - Samsung Phone Paired


Mobile Call using Bluetooth


Listing of Apps


360 Degree Camera App Loading


360 Degree Camera App View

[vsrivatsa]

Foxfire Android Head Unit Video Walkthrough

As they say "Seeing is Believing", I am also including a video walkthrough of the Foxfire 4GB-64GB Unit so people get a better idea of how the unit performs.

Foxfire 4GB-64GB Android Head Unit Walkthrough

[vsrivatsa]

After fiddling around with the new 4GB-64GB Foxfire Infotainment system on the Ciaz, here are my impressions:

Pros:

1. The 4GB RAM and the newer 2.5 Ghz Octacore processor improve the User Experience a lot. The system responds very fast and there is hardly a lag.
2. The Audio quality is a definite improvement over the Blaupunkt system that it has replaced - no doubt about it.
3. The features that come with an Android HU such as Google Maps, ability to install various apps and Voice Commands with Amazon Music App etc.
4. The DSP App which allows to create multiple preset Equalizer settings (up to 4 user memory)
5. Existing Camera worked fine with the new system
6. Support for 360 Degree Camera from a software perspective - gives a provision for future upgrade to a 360 degree camera.
7. The smooth installation process provided by RedSoul and the peace of mind since they have a close tie up with Foxfire as a vendor.

Cons:

1. More of aesthetics but - the microphone placement in my Foxfire unit was more hidden from view and this one is placed behind the steering wheel where it is more visible.
2. Pricing - at the moment the prices are on the higher side - this is in the 30K+ price range which is quite high for an unbranded system.
3. The order and delivery was delayed multiple times which left a bad taste in the mind of the buyer - hopefully this is a one off since when I ordered my 2GB/32GB Foxfire the experience was very smooth.
4. Doubtful if any Android Upgrade would be provided although Android 9.1 seems fairly decent as of now.

Conclusion
In conclusion, I would recommend and continue to advocate upgrades to Android Head Units which are much more feature packed and come with larger screens as compared to the Head Units from brands such as Sony and Pioneer. Thank You for reading thru my Article and I would like to end by wishing everyone a very Happy Diwali!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[unni246]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

After fiddling around with the new 4GB-64GB Foxfire Infotainment system on the Ciaz, here are my impressions:
[*]Pricing - at the moment the prices are on the higher side - this is in the 30K+ price range which is quite high for an unbranded system.

Thanks a lot for reviewing this at the right time, the fit and finish looks very pretty and niche

I was doing my research on the Foxfire unit along with few others brands in the market for my old Fiesta. One thing I have noted is that the old school non-touch based stereos are long forgotten by many installers and even the manufacturers I believe. I still believe these to be the best for cars and ease of control while not taking your eyes off the road (Especially when you have a car that doesn't have the steering mounted controls.

Touch screen based players have taken over the whole market now and many I feel are giving priority to connectivity and UI than music, just my feeling.
Especially a good system with good pre-out and music experience would come only within / above 20K budget. Whereas the old school players costs just within 10K for a very decent variant.

Now I am shocked to see that even to get a non-branded variant of FoxFire You need to shell out 30K+!!
Would you also be able to update on the term & conditions related to warranty? Would this again be sorted by Red Soul - heard of any user experiences on that line?

[Rathore_13]

Also, one key thing I noticed as different here is that both the USB ports supported by the Foxfire Unit are shared from within the Glovebox and did not integrate with the existing USB socket provided in the car. In case of my Honda City and with the 2GB/32 GB Model of Foxfire, one of the USB ports integrated with the Built-in USB port of the car while providing the additional one from within the glove box.

I have the same head unit installed in my Baleno. The accessories shop charged me Rs 300 extra for installation of a small wire which connected the car USB to the head unit. Works well.

[navin]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

Conclusion
In conclusion, I would recommend and continue to advocate upgrades to Android Head Units which are much more feature-packed and come with larger screens as compared to the Head Units from brands such as Sony and Pioneer. Thank You for reading thru my Article and I would like to end by wishing everyone a very Happy Diwali!

Awesome story. I am a technophobe so all this Android, Bluetooth stuff flies over my head. Hence I wouldn't have had the confidence to do what you did.

Have you compared the sound quality of this head unit to similarly priced Hus from Kenwood, Pioneer or Sony?

I did not see any amplifiers added or any speaker install. Did you change the speakers or add any amplifiers?

[vsrivatsa]

Originally Posted by unni246

Now I am shocked to see that even to get a non-branded variant of FoxFire You need to shell out 30K+!!

Agree with your thoughts, the price does feel high. I wonder if this is due to the Covid situation that the movement of goods might have been restricted. So it may make sense to wait 2-3 months to see if the prices reduce.

I had purchased the 2GB/32 GB model of Foxfire last year at 22K when that was the top of the line model available and that price range seems more reasonable. Also, there is 4GB/32GB variant also available now at a lower price as well for people who want at a lower budget.

From a service and support my experience has been good. I have not heard anyone who had to get into a warranty replacement kind of situation so far. There is a 1 year warranty offered with the unit. The decision maker for warranty would be Sunny Gupta based in Delhi and he ships these all over India.

I do know of one person who exchanged his old Android 6 Foxfire with a newer one for a good exchange price - so there is some type of buyback/exchange that can be worked out I think if you decide to upgrade again some years later.

Originally Posted by Rathore_13

The accessories shop charged me Rs 300 extra for installation of a small wire which connected the car USB to the head unit.

Thanks for this tip - will check if something like this can be done for Ciaz.

Originally Posted by navin

Have you compared the sound quality of this head unit to similarly priced Hus from Kenwood, Pioneer or Sony?

I did not see any amplifiers added or any speaker install. Did you change the speakers or add any amplifiers?

No, there was no replacement of speakers or addition of amplifiers.

The comparison here as called out was between the Blaupunkt Costa Mesa Unit that was replaced and I can confidently say the upgrade has done justice from a sound quality perspective

Also, from my knowledge I have shared of the examples where people preferred the Honda DigiPad over the Foxfire as well. I believe the Honda Digipad is based on Alpine. I would leave the comparison with various brands to other experts who may have had the opportunity to compare.

In summary, when we talk of a Car Infotainment System, should the comparison be based only on sound quality or should we consider an above average sound quality with a combination of the other aspects which makes it an attractive offering as a sum of all parts is an open question and this is a judgement call that the individual buyers need to make - there is no one size fits all approach

[unni246]

Originally Posted by navin

Awesome story. I am a technophobe so all this Android, Bluetooth stuff flies over my head. Hence I wouldn't have had the confidence to do what you did.

I did not see any amplifiers added or any speaker install. Did you change the speakers or add any amplifiers?

I have seen some Android models claiming to have 60-70w per channel. And also separate Sub out. Does these really make sense?

As mentioned by You, I am noob to this and my priority is good music. And already having a amplifier + Sub setup I think I should be sticking to regular headunits with 3 pre-outs rather than looking at Androids, just for the UI and Aesthetics? The reason for my upgrade is just that my old model does not have Bluetooth connectivity and the adapter option via Aux input doesn't seem to be doing justice

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

In summary, when we talk of a Car Infotainment System, should the comparison be based only on sound quality or should we consider an above average sound quality with a combination of the other aspects which makes it an attractive offering as a sum of all parts is an open question and this is a judgement call that the individual buyers need to make - there is no one size fits all approach

This is indeed a nice way to sum it up. For me Music is primary and others (UI, Aesthetics, Video ..etc) are more like good to have. So guess I should drop the whole Android plan and stick with a regular double din

[navin]

Originally Posted by vsrivatsa

The comparison here as called out was between the Blaupunkt Costa Mesa Unit that was replaced and I can confidently say the upgrade has done justice from a sound quality perspective

In summary, when we talk of a Car Infotainment System, should the comparison be based only on sound quality or should we consider an above average sound quality with a combination of the other aspects which makes it an attractive offering as a sum of all parts is an open question and this is a judgement call that the individual buyers need to make - there is no one size fits all approach

I have 3 conditions for any audio device:

1. Ease of use (which includes almost instantaneous boot time).
2. Reliability
3. Sound quality

I assume this Android HU is easy to use (I haven't used an Android device till now). Reliability will only be known after a few months of use. And when it comes to sound quality, a chain is only as strong as the weakest link. Each piece of the audio chain needs to be of reasonably good quality. Lossless music sent through a quality DAC to good amplifiers and speakers.

Originally Posted by unni246

I have seen some Android models claiming to have 60-70w per channel.

As mentioned by You, I am noob to this and my priority is good music. And already having a amplifier + Sub setup I think I should be sticking to regular headunits with 3 pre-outs rather than looking at Androids, just for the UI and Aesthetics? The reason for my upgrade is just that my old model does not have Bluetooth connectivity and the adapter option via Aux input doesn't seem to be doing justice

I haven't seen the innards of the HU being discussed but typical chip amplifiers that are used in cars are capable of delivering 20W/RMS per channel provided the power supply has enough juice and there is adequate heatsink available (Take the LM1875 or TDA2050 for instance). Today with Class D amps this number can be higher. Check out the datasheets here
https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/prod...io%20Amplifier

I had tested some 1 DIN Alpine HU's about 15 years ago and they maxed out at about 8-10W RMS/per channel with all 4 channels at less than 1% THD driven into a resistive 4-ohm load. If I had used a real-world load such as speakers this number might have dropped a bit.

On the other hand when it comes to audio quality which can be quite subjective; which means you need to be testing with a quality source, amplification and loudspeakers it is hard to determine what sounds good just by looking at specifications.

All that said, I am pretty impressed with this install. I tiptoe around technology avoiding it when I can. Before this thread, I would have been blindfolded, gagged and tied before I let anyone stick Android anything in my car. This install has given me a little more confidence.